Medical consequences if USAID stops working

After President Donald Trump decided to stop granting capital to USAID – the US International Development Agency – the chaotic scene appeared in many countries. Experts warn the risk of disease outbreaks and famine, with serious impacts in the field of family planning and female education.

In 2023, USAID managed more than $ 40 billion in aid. By the beginning of this year, Trump gave Elon Musk the narrowing of the agency’s operation. Earlier, the billionaire accused USAID as a “criminal” organization. Immediately after Musk announced the USAID “must die” and send the Doge supervisor to check the USAID headquarters in Washington, about 600 organizations said they could not access the agency system. Website USAID also offered from 1/2 in the afternoon without an explanation.

A former senior USAID official describes Musk’s move as a “extinction” event for the international humanitarian industry. According to experts, the impact of decisions on the world aid industry is very profound, maybe immediately, because the US accounts for 4 of every 10 USD global spending on humanitarian aid.

USAID closed immediately became a blow to the important drug store in Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Analysis shows that thousands of women and girls are likely to die from complications during pregnancy and childbirth.

In Bangladesh, the International Center for International Diarrhea has fired a number of world prestigious scientists working in the malaria program. In Africa, malaria control programs in Uganda are forced to apply similar engraving measures, with reports of dozens of important projects on the first gland care has been stopped.

In Johannesburg, projects based on sponsoring more than 20 years from the US HIV/AIDS reaction program, called Pepfar, are also fate. Pepfar provides antiviral drugs for 20 million HIV -infected people globally, and sponsors the kits of testing and medical supplies for millions of others.

“This is a vital issue,” said Beatriz Grinsztejn, president of the International AIDS Association, adding that Pepfar stops will be a “disaster.” He worried about the US move will cause HIV outbreak.

Brian Aluongira, who runs the health clinic for the LGBT+ community in Kampala, Uganda, said Mr. Trump’s command made the supply stagnant. His base mainly provides HIV tests based on Pepfar’s funding.

Asia Russell, CEO of Health Gap, a group of campaigning for HIV patients, sharing clinics around the world is facing the same situation. According to her, the long -lasting order means that many places “stop providing HIV treatment and diagnosis, employees are fired, clinic clinics, access to drugs that have been narrowed”.

“Millions of people around the globe will suffer the vital consequences, when the program depends on the funding source is delayed without planning and safety network. Experts cannot work without knowing the funding resources When will it come, “Abby Maxman, Oxfam America president, said.

Dr. Atul Gawande, a global health management assistant in USAID under Joe Biden, said the decision to close USAID caused “serious damage to the world and the United States”. According to him, in addition to the HIV prevention programs, it affects the removal of deadly infectious diseases such as the Marburg virus in Tanzania or the monkey season in West Africa.

Efforts to monitor the spread of avian influenza, remove paralysis, tropical diseases such as fever, lymphatic worms may also be delayed. Medical services for pregnant and child vaccinations also affect. The ONE campaign estimates that 3 million children are at high risk of malaria if the US malaria prevention initiative stops working for 90 days. Researching from the Guttmacher Institute revealed that 11 million women and girls will be denied the right to access to contraceptive care during the time of stopping aid. It is estimated that 8,340 people may die from complications during pregnancy and childbirth.

Thomas Byrnes, who operates a consulting company specializing in humanitarian field, said the sudden stop -working order of USAID has a harsh, extensive impact, because the global system depends on the US funding. The country provides 42.3% of global aid, according to the United Nations. The decision “unprecedented” forced organizations to stop the program, sudden humanitarian, causing damage to the weak population group, according to Mr. Byrnes.

USAID was founded by US President John F. Kennedy in 1961 under the Foreign Support Act. It incorporates US foreign organizations and programs into an independent unit, in order to “provide aid to the countries that are recovering after disaster, seeking to escape poverty and promote civil reform. owner”.